When it comes to data centers, redundancy and reliability are similar, but not quite equal. To understand why both matter so much, consider this statistic. According to the National Archives and Records Administration in Washington D.C., over 90 percent of businesses that experienced more than 10 days of lost data center availability filed for bankruptcy within a year.
Clearly, these are important safeguards for your business. Understanding each one starts with a brief overview of how they work.
What Is Redundancy?
In terms of data centers, redundancy means having multiples of certain components within the center. Core functions and systems have duplicates that run on a different server. As a result, an unforeseen natural disaster or widespread power outage never renders the data center completely ineffective.
Redundancy ensures that if one system fails, at least one other system can perform the same tasks to back it up. Services that are often duplicated as part of this requirement include cabling, switches, fans, heating and cooling, and servers. The amount of redundancy a data center needs depends on how many minutes of downtime a business can tolerate. Therefore, the less downtime your business can withstand, the higher the level of redundancy your data center requires.
What Is Reliability?
Reliability refers to a data center’s ability to perform its required operations under a specified set of conditions for a predetermined period of time. It directly affects the availability of a system or application. In fact, the presence or absence of a reliable data network is the key factor in data center effectiveness. A highly reliable system has five main characteristics: high availability control, advanced data collection, advanced analytics, critical alarm response, and effective integration of all systems. Ideally, your data center should have each of these characteristics in place.
Data Center Security as a Whole
A data center is designed to provide ease of use, reduced overall costs, increased effectiveness of server management, and optimal security measures. Reliability and redundancy are just two of the security measures data centers use today. To learn more about data center security, visit our website or call a Volico customer service representative at 305.735.8098 for a complete explanation of our security services and data centers.
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